(Today would have been my Mother’s
87th birthday, had she lived. She
unexpectedly left this life a few months after she turned 67. For her
first birthday in Heaven, I sat down to write a short piece about
her, to be published in our small town newspaper. When the text took
a different turn, which was not really appropriate for the
Obituary/Tribute section, I just tucked it away in my mementos
box…until now).

*******************************

It feels strange to go back home,
now. It is not the same anymore. All the old folks in the Hollow have
been replaced by the next generations. The sound of the rushing
creek, the smell of the woods after it rains, and the sight of the
deer crossing the field, is still the same…but Mom isn’t there.
Like Nanny and Dad-dad, she was the real memory of my childhood. They
were the true essence of the Hollow to me. They were
home to me.

The family left one at a time.
First, Daddy died, nine years later Nanny passed over, then Dad-dad
went ten years after her, and now twelve years later, Mom has gone.

The fourth generation still lives in
the old log house, while the fifth and sixth generations also occupy
the land. The family, like the house, has endured many transitions
and hardships, but certainly the death of a loved one is the worst.

The land remains mostly unchanged
from the day my great-grandfather built his log cabin at the base of
the ridge. Of course it is the people that make a home. It is the
warm love of three generations living together in the old house, that
I most fondly remember.

From the time I became a Christian,
I have noticed that I have been transplanting my roots from this
earth to Heaven. The older I get, the easier this has become. With
the passing of each loved one, a few more roots are laid down in the
Holy City.

When I met Jesus several decades
ago, I’d hear the old Saints sing, “This world is not my home,
I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere
beyond the blue. The Angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, and
I can’t feel at home in this world anymore”.

To the mind of a child, this was a
curious song. I was young and still earthbound. I couldn’t identify
with this mystical place called Heaven. To me, the Hollow was home.
Even through my adult years, no matter what part the country I lived
in, I always came back to the Hollow. It was the only place I ever
considered home.

Since the passing of my mother, I
have undergone a final uprooting. She was the last of the old folks.
I guess that makes me the “old folks” now!
The children and the grandchildren will soon possess the land. That
is as it should be, and it’s okay. I’m getting to the place where
I don’t need to hold onto the Hollow anymore.

There is a person called Jesus whom
I have learned to know and love. I’m beginning to get homesick to
be with Him and for this place called Heaven. It’s not a mystical
city to me anymore. I’ve got kin there. Not just the earthly family
I so dearly loved, but kin-folks I’ve only read about, like;
Abraham, David, Paul, and John…and of course, my closest Kin and
best Friend, Jesus. My Daddy died when I was young, and I always
longed for a father’s love. Although I want to see my earthly dad
again, I can hardly wait to see the One who has been a true father to
me all my life…my precious Heavenly Father. I so want to climb upon
His lap and let Him hold me for real, as He has done so often in my
mind. And who knows? Considering how much God loves His kids, I
wouldn’t be surprised if Jesus has prepared a mansion for me at the
foot of a mountain, by the River of Life, where the deer walk across
the field!

The Pastor's Desk

Re: Previous Website

The Home Place Mission had a former site and the time came where we had to switch web site hosts. Our email had to be changed as well. In transferring the articles over, every effort was made to correct any inferences to the old email address (the new one is on the home page). Also, all articles containing hyper links were needing updated too. Please forgive us if some things may have been overlooked. Because this page is in a blog format, the date we transferred each article over is what shows under the title when opened. The correct date each article was written is beside the title under the category column. We apologize for the blog format, as it is not as "user-friendly" as our old site but we do hope you find the articles encouraging and are blessed by the insights shared! Thank you for reading!